Night Sky
by Eriko Myoujin
Summary: When one stares at the night sky, the stars always seem to bring back memories... both joyous and painful. Seto and Mokuba remember their parents, and everything that's happened to them. [Seto and Mokuba fluff][Oneshot]


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Author's Note- Wow, I'm on a roll or something… this is my third Yugioh fic in two weeks… o.O; This one is going to be a lot more fluffy than the others… I'm in a fluffy mood. Heheh. ^^;

Again- "Niisama" is what Mokuba calls Seto in the Japanese version.

Also, Seto may seem a bit OOC, but that may be for you to judge. We don't really see how he acts when he's alone with Mokuba, so he might not be OOC at all. ^_^

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Disclaimer- I don't own Yugioh or it's characters. -_-;

Night Sky

By Eriko Myoujin

Seto Kaiba turned the computer off with the flick of a switch, standing up and running a hand through his hair. He blinked a few times, his eyes stinging and red from staring at the computer screen nearly all day. Seto sighed, massaging his temples to ease the pain that had begun to throb there.

He glanced at the clock. "Eight thirty. Mokuba should be in bed by now…" 

Deciding to go check on his little brother before he himself fell asleep, Seto walked out of the room and shut the door gently behind him. He looked down the hall to where Mokuba's room was, and saw that the light was off.

"Good. He's…"

"Niisama!" came a voice from behind him.

Seto jumped a foot and turned around, suddenly wide-awake. Mokuba was standing there, a huge grin on his face and his blue-gray eyes shining. 

"Mokuba!" the older Kaiba brother smiled in relief. "Don't do that."

Mokuba giggled. "Okay."

"Now, why aren't you in bed? It's passed your bedtime."

At this, Mokuba looked at the ground. "Well… I had an idea."

Seto frowned. Wonderful, Mokuba had an idea. The last time his little brother had had an idea had been when he wanted to jump off the balcony into the pool. The problem was this- the balcony was on the highest floor of their mansion, the third floor, and the pool was, well, in the ground. Seto hadn't let Mokuba go through with it.

"An idea. Please explain." Seto grinned a bit, narrowing his eyes playfully in mock annoyance.

"Do we have a tent?"

Seto blinked at him. "A… tent?"

Mokuba nodded excitedly. "Yeah! I wanted to have a camp out! You know… sleep outside the house. In a tent."

_Well…_ Seto thought, _at least he doesn't want to jump off the building. _

"Yeah… we have a tent somewhere. I'm not sure about this camp out idea, though, Mokuba…" Seto sighed and ran his hand through his hair, knowing what Mokuba would do next.

"Aww… Seto, please?" Mokuba looked up at Seto with his innocent, begging eyes that Seto hated and loved at the same time.

With a final sigh, Seto said, "Alright, Mokuba… but you can't sleep out there by yourself. I guess I'll have to stay out there with you…" 

Mokuba jumped up and down in ecstasy. "Yay! Thank you, niisama!"

Seto sighed. Great, now he was going to be spending the night in a tent. So much for a good night's sleep…

***

Within the next half-hour, the tent had been set up, and Mokuba was bringing his pillow and blankets down the stairs. Seto was behind him, carrying a few more blankets and his own pillow. His face showed no emotion as usual, but Mokuba's grin couldn't be removed.

The air outside was cold and damp, but the tent was cozy. Seto had laid out blankets all over the floor of the thing so he and his brother wouldn't have the uncomfortable feeling of grass beneath them while they slept. 

When everything was set up, Seto stood back and admired the work with Mokuba at his side. He smiled, and then looked at his brother. "Are you ready for bed now?"

Mokuba's eyes pleaded with him again. "I'm not tired yet. Can't we sit out here for a while, niisama?"

Seto smiled at him. "Alright, Mokuba," 

The younger boy giggled with delight again. 

Looking around, Seto pointed to a lawn chair. "I'm going to go sit over there, okay? You can… do whatever you really want to, Mokuba." He smiled and ruffled Mokuba's hair.

Mokuba nodded, turned around, and ran into the tent. Seto wondered why, but didn't pay it much mind. 

As Seto walked over to the lawn chair and sat down, he sighed. He let his body go limp and leaned back as far as he could in the chair, so his face was pointed directly at the sky.

He gasped at what he saw. 

Hundreds- no, thousands- of stars were shining overhead, twinkling and flashing with the same brilliance of Mokuba's eyes. Seto stared at them for a moment, wide-eyed at their beauty. Then he shook his head, wondering at his strange behavior. Why was he suddenly so amazed by the stars? They had always been there.

_I've just never realized how… beautiful they are…_  
Seto's thoughts were suddenly cut off as he felt something jump on top of him, striped with red and orange.

"Mokuba? What are you doing?" Seto blinked and looked at his brother, who jumped into his lap and was now gazing at him happily.

"You said we could sit out here for a while. I want to sit with you, niisama." Mokuba said.

With a moment's hesitation, Seto smiled. "C'mere," Seto put an arm around Mokuba and pulled him close, letting his brother snuggle into him. 

"Here, niisama," Mokuba handed his brother a blanket that he had brought out from inside the tent, then relaxed and put his head on Seto's chest.

Seto put the blanked around both of them, tucking it around Mokuba as if he was putting him to bed like he did every night. Then he put his arms around the boy and held him close for a moment, closing his eyes.

_He's so warm…_ Seto thought.

They were quiet for a minute, and then Mokuba gasped. "Oh, niisama! Look!"

He was pointing to the star-speckled sky. Seto looked up and realized immediately what Mokuba was so excited about. 

A shooting star was flying across the sky, strangely slower than most, leaving a trail of stardust behind it. Seto glanced at Mokuba, who was staring at it with the reflection of a thousand other stars in his eyes. At this, Seto smiled again, tightening his grip on Mokuba's shoulder.

Again, they were quiet as the watched the sky. It seemed like ages before Mokuba spoke up again.

"Niisama?"

"Hmm?"

Mokuba seemed a bit hesitant. "…Niisama… what were our parents like?"

Seto felt a sharp pain stab at his heart. This was the first time since he could remember that Mokuba had asked about their parents. Now that he _had_ asked, he didn't know quite how to respond. "Well, they…"

"Do you remember them?"

_Of course I remember them… it's talking about them that's hard._ "Yeah… I do…" Seto sighed and leaned back more. "…they were wonderful. They were the best parents ever, Mokuba… no one could ever replace them."

"I never knew them, Seto." Mokuba whispered.

"I know… mom… she died when you were born, and then dad died a few years later in a car accident… I'm sure you don't remember any of this, Mokuba… but…"

"I remember dad, but not mom. What was she like?" he asked innocently, leaning onto Seto's chest and lightly gripping his nightshirt with one hand.

Seto searched himself to find the right words. How was he supposed to explain this to his brother? "Well… she was great, too… she was so excited about you… she would always tell me how a big brother should act, and what they should do… I remember her telling me a lot of things before you were born, Mokuba… she said, 'You're going to have to look out for him, Seto. You're going to have to protect him always.'"

Mokuba looked up to meet Seto's eyes. "You do protect me, niisama. You promised you would, remember?" He could see his little brother's hand clutching the locket that hung around his neck. 

Seto had his locket with him, too, of course. He could feel the cold metal being pressed against his skin, and he longed to hold it in his hand and cling to it as Mokuba was doing, but he resisted. "Yeah… I remember, Mokuba…"

"I never even got to meet her…" Mokuba looked down again, his face saddening. 

Seto was silent, unable to respond. Already he could feel the sadness and loss welling up inside him, threatening tears. 

_Don't you cry. If you cry in front of him, you'll never be able to forgive yourself._

"Niisama, are you mad at me?"

Mokuba's voice tore Seto away from his thoughts. "Mad at you? Why would I be mad at you, Mokuba?"

His little brother sighed and rested his head on Seto's shoulder again. "Because mom died when she had me. It's my fault, isn't it, niisama?"

Seto felt his heart heave inside his chest. "Oh, no… no, Mokuba, it's not your fault… don't think that way…" he hugged Mokuba gently, who had begun to whimper. 

"I… I don't remember dad, either…" Mokuba whispered, letting the small amount of tears that had leaked out of his eyes to be absorbed by the blanket.

_I hate to see him like this… should I continue? I don't want to make him…_ Seto thought, bringing the blanket tighter around his brother's small form. "Dad… he really loved us… I remember him taking you to the park and putting you on the swings, and then push you to make you squeal…" 

Seto stared at his brother. _He's grown so much… time went by so fast…_

Mokuba smiled a bit. "But… he's gone, too, now…"

"Yes… he is. But I'm still here for you, Mokuba."

He looked at Seto hopefully, tears in his eyes again. "What if you're not always there? Mom and dad… they were supposed to always be there for us, but they're not here anymore…" 

"Mokuba…"

"I don't want you to die, niisama…" Mokuba burst into tears and buried his face in Seto's chest, sobbing helplessly.

Seto held him. "Shh… I'm not going to die, Mokuba…"

"What if you do?"

"I won't… I won't leave you here by yourself. I couldn't do that to you… so stop thinking that way. I'm going to be here for you as long as you need me, and even after that." 

Mokuba whimpered and squeezed his eyes shut. "…You will?"

Seto hugged Mokuba tightly against him, putting his cheek against Mokuba's hair and rocking back and forth slowly. "Of course I will."

They stayed like that for a long time, and eventually Mokuba calmed down, his sobs quieting. 

"Seto… look." Mokuba looked up at the sky.

Following Mokuba's gaze, Seto saw another shooting star cross the sky. The stardust fell from it's tail and danced along the sky like dandelion seeds in the breeze, shining and twinkling as they fell.

Eventually all evidence that the comet had even been there vanished, and Seto looked back down at Mokuba, whose eyes were half-closed.

Seto smiled softly and wiped a strand of hair out of Mokuba's face. "You tired now?"

Mokuba nodded and snuggled closer to his brother, closing his eyes completely. Seto stood up with the boy in his arms, wrapping the blanket all around him. He carried him to the tent and laid him down, where Mokuba fell asleep presently, pulling the blanket tightly around him. 

Seto stared at Mokuba for a moment, smiled, and then lay down next to him, putting one arm around the boy and pulling him close. 

"Good night, little brother. I love you, and I'll always be here for you."

Mokuba smiled in his sleep, and curled up next to Seto. "Niisama…"

Seto closed his eyes. Soon he was asleep as well, breathing softly and holding Mokuba close to him as he slumbered.

He dreamed that he and Mokuba rode on a shooting star through the night sky, stardust falling all around them.

~Fin~

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End Note- Hmm… that was… interesting. I'm not used to writing stuff that isn't complete drama/angst. ^^ Sorry if it wasn't quite what you expected… I tried!

Leave me a review!! Please? ^^; Flames are welcome, too… but only if you _really_ hated this… @_@


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